Haze Chronicles
by DarkHorse1
Summary: A young woman corners the Ronins with an odd request. Is she friend or foe? I wont beg for reviews. O wait, yes I will. PLEASE RR!
1. Intro to Haze

The usual standard disclaimers apply. Ronins aren't mine, never were, and never will be (unfortunately). No harm, no foul. No money, either. This was my first attempt at Ronin fanfic, so try not to laugh too hard, kay?  
  
Haze Chronicles 1: Intro to Haze  
  
The minor rough-housing in the halls had turned ugly. At first, everyone had thought they were playing around, but when a nose was bloodied and an eye was blackened, well, they knew this was serious.  
  
"Get the fuck off me, you--!"  
  
"What, bitch?" The somewhat skinny, light brown haired boy was pinned beneath a leviathan of another boy. "That's right, squirm, you little faggot! I bet that feels good, don't it?"  
  
"I said, get the fuck off me. I am NOT gay, you prick!"  
  
"What the hell's goin' on here?" a heavyset, black-haired guy asked. "Oh, hell no!" He then jumped into the fray and gave a swift kick to the leviathan's jaw. He sprawled on the linoleum floor. "Hey, Cye, you okay man?"  
  
Cye staggered to his feet. "Yeah, sure, Kento. But, uh, we'd better go," he said with a nod to his right. Kento looked and saw the principal on his way. They both sped out of the circle of people and hid.  
  
They hadn't escaped ALL prying eyes.  
  
*****  
  
"You got into a fight at school? No way!" Yuli said, for what must have been the hundredth time.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Cye mumbled, holding an ice pack to his eye.  
  
Ryo chuckled. "You know, I would have paid to see that. So, you clobbered him, right?"  
  
Cye and Kento looked at each other. "Actually, Kento kind of came to my rescue."  
  
"Who was it? Anyone I might know?"  
  
"Naw. Just some punk-ass kid who thinks he's hot shit," Kento said. He looked down at his hands.  
  
He knew the real reason. He managed to wheedle it out of Cye. This 'punk- ass kid' almost beat Cye because his 'affections' were turned down. He wasn't about to tell the guys that, though. That was Cye's business. Kento looked back and cocked his head towards the door. "ALL RIGHT! FOOD!"  
  
Ryo and Cye looked at each other as Kento leapt over the coffee table and sprinted into the kitchen where Mia was unloading groceries.  
  
"Do you know how he does that?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Not a clue," Cye said with a chuckle.  
  
*****  
  
Sage was sitting in the middle of the clearing and Rowen was leaning up against a tall oak tree, reading. Rowen turned a page, then looked at his watch. "Hey, Sage. We better get going, if we're gonna make it back in time for dinner."  
  
Sage cracked open his eyes and saw Rowen get up. He sighed. "All right. I don't think they'll mind if we're late, though."  
  
"Yeah well, I mind not getting anything to eat. Kento'll probably eat it all."  
  
The two walked off towards the house.  
  
Something followed them back.  
  
*****  
  
The young woman strolled nonchalantly down the halls at Han'a High. She was a freelance reporter/photographer doing a documentary on high school life. She did, of course, have ulterior motives.  
  
When the bell rang for second period to begin, she began to look for her prey. She spotted him halfway down the hall, moving very, very slowly. "Excuse me? Hi. I'm doing a documentary on high school, and I need a few volunteers for the story. You interested?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
She smiled. "Yeah, you. Got any friends?"  
  
"Uh...yeah. Four of 'em."  
  
"Great. What grade?"  
  
"Seniors."  
  
"Even better. Where are they? Nevermind, you lead me to their classes, and I'll explain what I want, okay? What's your name?" she asked, pulling out a mini-notebook and a pen.  
  
"Uh... Kento. Kento Rei Faun."  
  
She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet ya', Kento. You can call me Haze. Not my real name, but it's what everyone else calls me."  
  
Once Kento had gathered up Rowen, Cye, Sage, and Ryo, Haze led them down to the basement and into an old storeroom. She locked the door. Rowen looked up, alarmed. "Don't worry, it's only temporary. I s'pose you wanna know why I brought you down here. I AM doing a documentary, but not on school life. You see that black binder there? Take a look."  
  
The five friends opened the book and looked on in shocked horror. "The first one, that's a man who calls himself Orion, after the mythological hunter. Except he hunts vampires. Oh yes, there are vampires. He rides an iron horse, Ore. I've got a couple of good pictures of him. Fighting random creatures and monsters. Not just vamps. Werewolves, black witches, mutants. You know."  
  
They turned the pages and came to a man in a red trench coat. Haze snorted. "That's Ayden. He has been called demonic by some. Unjustly, of course. He's a... hmmm... witch, I guess. Caroli and her boyfriend, Valyn, are with him in that picture. Those three, along with help from a man known only as Chibi, defeated a sorcerer who almost opened up the gates to Hell."  
  
Another few pages.  
  
"Reylan, the silver dragon. The last of his kind. A nice guy, though. Very gentle. Except when he's pissed. Then... well, never mind that."  
  
Then the Ronin Warriors came upon something they never expected.  
  
Themselves.  
  
Fighting Sekhmet.  
  
Playing with White Blaze.  
  
Fighting Kayura.  
  
The Ancient.  
  
"How... how did you get these?" Ryo asked quietly.  
  
"Same way I got the others. I took a picture. You guys are hard to track down. I've been looking for you ever since you killed Talpa the second time."  
  
"What do you want from us?" Sage said.  
  
"You. Your lives, your stories, and I know it sounds cheesy, but your triumphs and tragedies."  
  
"But you were THERE half the time!" Kento shouted.  
  
"Exactly. I want the other half."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... There you have it. Cye's story is next. I intend to rewrite the early lives of the ronins, complete with side comments from Haze. 


	2. Cye: Heaven of Water

blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda, you know the disclaimers  
  
Haze Chronicles 2: Cye: Heaven of Water  
  
Back in the Ronin Mansion (Haze was stunned that 5 teens, a 20- something woman, and a 10 year old could afford the place), Haze asked for volunteers.  
  
"For what?" Kento asked, through a mouthful of Philly cheese steak sandwich.  
  
Cye rolled his eyes. "Her story, dolt!"  
  
"Heyyy---!"  
  
"It really doesn't matter to me who goes first, just as long as I get at least one of you done tonight, before I go home."  
  
The five Ronins looked at each other, trying to find out who was going to crack first. A decision seemed to be made between four of them. Ryo, Sage, Rowen, and Kento all looked at Cye.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"There you go, Haze. Have at it. Good luck, Cye!" Ryo said cheerily as he and the other three flew from the room and up the stairs.  
  
Haze rubbed her hands together and narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to make this as painfu---less as possible. Sit down and relax, Cye." She pulled a mini-tape recorder out of her pocket and put it on the table between them. She sat back in the chair.  
  
Cye sat down with a groan, muttering something about the others getting a bath tonight. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Not so fast. Before we start, I just want to let you know that whatever you're about to tell me will never leave this house. It won't even leave the room, if that's what you want. This is all very confidential. I will only repeat things that you have given me permission to repeat. Okay?"  
  
Cye looked at her, surprised. When they first met, he thought she was a joker, not capable of being truly serious. But when he looked at her, he knew she was very serious. He nodded. "That's fine."  
  
"First thing's first. How'd you get the black eye?"  
  
Cye was caught off guard by the question. "In a fight with another kid at school," he answered, recovering quickly. "Why?"  
  
"I couldn't think of anything else to begin with. You wanna elaborate on your answer?"  
  
He looked away from her. "Just some kid who thought he was cool jumped me. We fought; he hit me in the eye."  
  
Haze leaned her elbow on the chair's arm and rested her head on three fingers. She looked at him levelly until he glanced back at her. She held his gaze.  
  
"Cye, if you're going to do this, you have to tell me the truth. I already told you that this is confidential. Please don't lie to me."  
  
To be caught in the lie so fast shocked Cye. His shock then turned to an overwhelming need to tell someone, *anyone* about what had happened. His resolve to keep it a secret collapsed under Haze's stare. Something sounding suspiciously (whew, say that 10 times fast) like a sob escaped Cye's throat.  
  
"He wanted me."  
  
Haze's thin dark brows furrowed. "You're talking in a sexual sort of way, right?"  
  
"Yes." The story poured out of him. "We have gym together. I always caught him *looking* at me, like he wanted to say something to me. When we'd change in the locker room, he'd stare even harder. He even got bold enough to ask where I work out. He noticed my body! I always felt uncomfortable around him, but he never really bothered me. But then yesterday..." Cye's hands were white with the death grip he had on the arm of the chair. "He cornered me alone in the locker room. I thank whatever gods there are that we were both fully clothed, or I don't know what he would have done...He pinned my shoulders against the wall and told me to..to..." Cye choked on the words.  
  
Haze a pretty good idea where this was going.  
  
"'Get on your knees.' he said. I didn't think I heard him right, but then he said it again. 'You know you want to', he whispered in my ear. He was that close. He tried to force me down, but my pride wouldn't let me."  
  
"That wasn't pride, that was your humanity."  
  
Cye continued, as though she had never interrupted, but still hearing her. "I fought back, as hard as I could. I managed to get out into the hallway where he wouldn't be able to do anything with so many people around. He got angry, no, enraged, that I wasn't responding to him. That's when it really got violent. He hit me in the eye and it knocked me to the floor. He then sat on top of me, and pinned my legs down with his own, and grabbed my hands and pinned them to the floor above my head. He kept calling me 'faggot' and 'gay boy'. I think I snapped. I don't know how, but one of my arms got free and I clocked him in the nose. His blood dripped onto my shirt. That's when Kento jumped in. He kicked the guy in the jaw and knocked him out. That's when we made our getaway." Cye took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
  
"Feel better?" Haze asked, quietly.  
  
He looked at her, really looked at her. Her whole body was tense, with what he guessed was anger. Even her eyes glittered angrily. He couldn't imagine why she'd be angry at something she had no control over. She wasn't in his place. He shook himself, physically and mentally. "I'm ok. Now. I needed to get that out."  
  
Haze nodded. "Good, because I have a question. Did you like it?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Did you enjoy it? The fact that he noticed you, that he wanted you to have sex with him. Did you like it?"  
  
"What kind of question is that?! Of course not!"  
  
"Keep yelling. I thought you wanted this confidential."  
  
"No, I did not like it, any of it," he said, through clenched teeth.  
  
"Okay. Just a simple question. Sorry if I upset you, but I had to ask. Do you want to continue, or do you wanna take a break?"  
  
Cye looked at his watch. Four -thirty. Mia should be home soon with dinner. In response, his stomach growled. He glanced up sheepishly at Haze, who grinned, then burst out laughing when her stomach growled.  
  
"That settles that. We wait until we eat, then I can get the rest." Her stomach rumbled again, which set off another fit of laughter.  
  
Something else started rumbling. Only this time it wasn't internal organs. Kento came pounding down the steps, taking two at a time. He jumped the last four and breezed into the dining room where Mia had just started unpacking groceries.  
  
Cye and Haze looked at each other. They both laughed when they heard an indignant Mia shout "Kento! Get out of the cherry pies! That's for after dinner!"  
  
***  
  
Haze had been fairly quiet during dinner. Mia kept glancing at the other woman, seemingly wondering when Haze was going to turn into a Dynasty soldier. She set her fork down.  
  
"So, Haze. Mind if I ask you where that name came from?" Mia asked conversationally.  
  
"Some of my old friends in school used to call me that. The name just stuck."  
  
"Oh? Does it have any particular meaning?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Why did they call you that?"  
  
Haze was wondering where Mia's questions were going. "I think cuz my favorite color is silver. And they always said that whenever I was around, things would get foggy."  
  
"Things? What kind of things?"  
  
"They kept complaining that they couldn't think straight, or see straight. Stuff like that."  
  
"Some sort of weird power you had over them?"  
  
Haze chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe I blinded them with my beauty."  
  
That set off grins all around the table.  
  
"You've always had this power over your friends?"  
  
Haze was beginning to get irritated with this interrogation. "What? You think I was controlling their minds or something?"  
  
"I don't know what to think. You come here, out of nowhere, claiming you're a journalist. You know about the Dynasty, the Ronins, and all the stuff that goes with it. Then you want to collect their life stories just so you have them? Sorry, but I don't really believe that."  
  
"Mia! That's totally uncalled for! You don't even know who she is!" Cye said angrily.  
  
She turned to him. "And you do? Do any of you know who she is? For all we know, she could be a Dynasty warlord!"  
  
"If she was a Dynasty-bucket we would have known about it already! She wouldn't have waited long to show her true self," Cye returned. He was very angry with Mia for even considering Haze wasn't who she said she was.  
  
A cough from across the table got everyone's attention.  
  
"Please don't talk about me like I'm not in the room." It was a simple, quiet statement, but the emotion behind it was palpable. "I'll leave if you want me to. But I would never lie to you."  
  
Mia nodded. "Good. Get out of my house."  
  
Haze blinked.  
  
The five Ronin Warriors' jaws dropped. Mia had never been so rude to anyone.  
  
Suddenly, just before Haze's shock turned to all-out rage, a bright light filled the room. When the room returned to its normal darkness, Anubis stood behind Mia, a placating hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Be aware Ronins. The time has come when your services may be needed again. Do not fight amongst yourselves." He looked directly at Haze. "You will also be needed." He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.  
  
"Well," Haze said, "I guess he proved it for you, no?"  
  
Haze and Cye sat across from each other once again. This time, they were both more relaxed. After Anubis's appearance at dinner, Haze was more determined than ever to get the Ronin stories done quickly.  
  
"Before we start, can I ask you a question?" Cye asked.  
  
"Of course," she said sitting down in a chair, legs over one of its arms, back against the other.  
  
"What's your real name?"  
  
She laughed. "It's embarrassing. It's too weird." She looked over at Cye, who was staring back at her with sad eyes. She cracked. "Oh, all right. It's Kasen Celestra Genevieve. I know. It's a mouthful. People used to call me K.C. instead of Haze. You can see why I like Haze better."  
  
"I think it's beautiful."  
  
"Huh. Don't flatter me." She shook her head. "Ok, so where were we?"  
  
"Should I start at the beginning?"  
  
She nodded. "That would be appropriate, no?"  
  
**author's note: forget everything you know about Cye. It does not exist here.**  
  
He grinned. "My name is Cye Mouri and my birthday is March 14 and I'm 17. I've got two brothers, Chen and Kenni, who are twins and 10 years old. My older sister is Sayaka and she's 19. I live, well, during the times when I'm not here, with both parents in a cottage near the beach. We were a pretty close family."  
  
"Were?"  
  
"When my grandmother died when I was 12, the whole family fell apart. She was basically the glue that held us all together."  
  
Cye's voice grew wistful. "She used to always take us swimming when my parents were too busy or too tired. My father owns a restaurant and my mother is a waitress there. They rarely had time for us. It wasn't always like that, though."  
  
"Oh? Care to elaborate?"  
  
"Well, before the twins were born, my father was a great chef. He worked in one of the finest restaurants in town. He was head chef, so on his job alone the family would be supported. My mother worked as a secretary. She didn't have to, but she wanted us to have the best. When she found out that she was going to have twins, she quit. That was, I guess, the beginning of the end. Mother stayed home with us, while Father worked. Everything was going along pretty well until the restaurant my father worked in burned down. He was already planning to start his own restaurant, but he still needed funds. It put terrible stress on him and my mother to know that both of them were unemployed, and especially since she was near her time.  
  
"My father made a split second decision to go and open a restaurant just on what he had saved. At first, it looked as if the restaurant was going to flourish, but then my mother went into labor and had a hard time. An emergency C-section was done. It got infected and she got sicker. Mother survived, but barely. All our extra money was spent on paying hospital bills."  
  
"It must have been pretty hard on you, knowing that things were going badly."  
  
"Well, I was only five or six, so it wasn't as if I understood everything. But I had the basics. Anyways, Mother couldn't raise the four of us alone, so she hired a nanny. I think the nanny, Mrs. Ki, and Sayaka got into a nasty fight. None of us really liked Ki. She was mean. Mother had gone to work in the restaurant, so she never saw what happened with Ki. I know for a fact that she hit the twins often enough...I'm sure they don't even remember...and I know she raised her hand to me, but I don't know if she hit Saka."  
  
Cye shook himself, as if to free his mind of these memories. He continued.  
  
"When Mother and Father came home from the restaurant one day, they found a note from Ki saying she quit. She left the four of us alone.  
  
"It wasn't until three days later when we paid the landlord of our new cottage rent that we noticed Ki had stolen four thousand dollars from us. The landlord almost evicted us on the spot."  
  
"Damn."  
  
"Now Saka and I were even working at the restaurant. The twins were in preschool by that time, but us two were pulled from elementary to help. I missed third and fourth grade."  
  
"So it was basically child labor. You were working 'cuz you didn't have to be paid."  
  
Cye glanced at Haze. His brows furrowed. "I never thought of it that way before. But I think you're right. That takes us up until the time Grandmother died.  
  
"After that, my parents cared about nothing but getting food on the table. I guess I can't really blame them. I didn't realize it then, but my whole life was about to change."  
  
Haze thought she knew what was coming.  
  
"I came home from school, which I was back in, grandmother made sure of that, with a perfect test score; I had never done that before. I showed Mother and Father the grade, but they didn't care. They both sighed, and my Mother said, 'That's nice dear. Why don't you go out to play while we get some rest?' I had never been so angry in my life. I stormed out of the house and towards the beach.  
  
"I have never told anyone this before, but I seriously wanted to drown, right then and there." Cye plunged on, knowing that if he stopped, his emotions would get the better of him. "So I jumped into the cold, salty waters. I saw the sky disappear, and the water become my heaven. Just as I was about to black out from oxygen deprivation, I saw this, thing, this glowing blue thing at the bottom. I dove down, ignoring my burning lungs. When I reached it, I felt this surge of power shoot through my body. Then I felt nothing.  
  
"When I woke up, I was home. I had miraculously made it back to shore." Cye leaned back against the couch he was sitting on and sighed. "I guess that's it."  
  
"Well, it explains why you're such a good cook," Haze teased, trying to lighten the mood. It worked. Cye grinned, albeit halfheartedly. "I do have a few questions, though."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"I'm assuming that the mysterious glow was your Torrent armor." At Cye's nod, she continued. "What happened after that?"  
  
"Nothing really. I was tutored to catch up, and made it to fifth grade on time."  
  
"Wow. You caught up on two years of missed school in one summer?"  
  
"Yeah, it's kinda hard to believe. But I did manage to catch the last semester of fourth grade. I knew what was going on. I may not be as smart as Rowen, or even Sage, but I know enough to get me through."  
  
"I can't wait to interview those two, but I'm doing Kento next. Speaking of which, he's your best friend, right?"  
  
"Yeah. We've known each other since sixth grade. He's pulled my ass out of the fire plenty. He was the only one I told about the events of yesterday. Although, not as much detail was involved."  
  
Haze smiled, showing white, even teeth. "I never got to thank you for sticking up for me at dinner tonight. I appreciate it. No one's ever concerned themselves with me like that before. Well, except for maybe Ayden, but he doesn't count."  
  
"Maybe we should interview you after you're done with us?"  
  
Haze shook her head vehemently. "You don't want to know about me."  
  
Cye looked at her oddly, wondering what she had to hide.  
  
"Oh shmack! I forgot to ask you something. Your brothers and sister; they're still around right?"  
  
"My brothers still live at home, but my sister moved out the day she turned 18. We had grown apart a little since I became a Ronin. But I still have a bunch of good friends to lean on."  
  
"Any of your family know you're a Ronin?"  
  
"No. I don't know what would happen if I told them. My mother would freak and my father...well, I don't really know what he'd do. He'd probably ignore it like I never said anything and move on with his life. My brothers would be happy for me, and would follow me around waiting to see me do something. Saka would be upset with me for putting my life in danger like that, but she'd get over it, eventually."  
  
A mysterious click from the vicinity of the coffee table startled both of them.  
  
"Oops, ran out of tape." Haze said, sticking her tongue out at the offending machine. She flipped it over and hit "record" again. "You and Saka are close, then?"  
  
"Oh, yes. We'd even get into trouble together."  
  
"What kind of trouble? Real serious trouble, or just normal everyday kid stuff?"  
  
"Just kid stuff," Cye said with a grin. Then he frowned. "Well, there was that one time...Nah, it's too embarrassing."  
  
"Nonsense. Nothing's too embarrassing. I told you my name, didn't I?"  
  
Cye nodded. "True." He ignored Haze's indignant "Hey!" He thought a little bit before starting. "I think it was a few days after I found Torrent. Saka and I were making sandcastles. I wouldn't go anywhere near the water though."  
  
"Still a little freaked out?"  
  
"Definitely. Anyways, the town bully came flying through on his bike and demolished Saka's castle. I saw him coming and moved out of the way. I never thought he'd hit Saka's castle. He headed straight for mine next, and I guess I was still angry at getting the brush-off from my parents. I ended up tackling him when he rode past. We fell to the ground, kicking and yelling at each other. Saka had gotten up to get our parents. He landed a punch to my side and I fell over. He kicked me in the head after that. I must have screamed pretty loud, 'cuz Saka came running back. She jumped on top of the other kid and pulled his hair, scratched, kicked, bit, whatever she could do to keep him off of me. I got up again, and seeing that he was about to smack my sister, I jumped in again. Saka told me later that I sounded like a wild man. 'With a primal yell, you hit him in the jaw.' Her exact words. After that, we both kinda beat him to a bloody mess. Swollen eyes and lips, a broken nose, numerous cuts and bruises...His parents were not pleased."  
  
Haze snorted. "I can imagine. After that?"  
  
"Saka and I were both reamed a new asshole."  
  
She snorted again. "I can imagine that, too."  
  
"That was the only really bad thing we did. Of course, it was worth it. He never bothered us or our friends again after that."  
  
"If you can kick that much ass, why are you seen as the calm, easy going one, or even the weakest of the Ronins?"  
  
He jerked his head around to look at her. "I am? Since when?"  
  
"Well, you have to know that I'm not the only one to see the Ronins in action. Everybody I've listened to keeps calling you 'water boy'. 'That water boy is kinda weak, at least compared to the other ones.'"  
  
"Where do you hear this?"  
  
"Around town, legends, stuff like that. It's mainly children. They don't blow it off as easily as adults. Maybe it's just 'cuz you're not loud and obnoxious as, say, Kento. Or as you yourself said, as smart as Sage and Rowen. Or as stubborn as Ryo. I hate to say it, but you're the forgotten Ronin. People see the ones that stand out, not the ones that are standing behind them."  
  
Cye hung his head. He had no idea that's what people thought. Maybe he could do something to be noticed...  
  
"Oh, Christ, I shouldn't have said anything. Now I got you all upset. Don't go doing anything stupid, like fighting by yourself or some such nonsense. The Ronins need you as you, not some weirdo that fights all their battles for them."  
  
She was right. He knew it deep down, but something kept pulling at him...  
  
"And don't think, 'I'll show them who's weak.', then get yourself killed when you run reckless through a fight. You're a strong young man, Cye Mouri, don't ever lose sight of that."  
  
Strong? Him? Wasn't she the one that just told him he was weak? That he was forgotten? And who was she to tell him what was stupid and what wasn't? What to think and what not to think?  
  
Haze noticed a sudden and severe change pass over Cye's features. He went from hurt, to acceptance, to complete rage. She involuntarily sunk back into the chair.  
  
He stood up and towered over her. He leaned down over the chair and put his hands on either side of Haze. She wasn't going to escape, not this time.  
  
"Cye..."  
  
He blinked, then shook his head. Sinking to the floor, he said, "Not this time?"  
  
"Cye?"  
  
He looked back up at Haze, who was staring at him in concern. He asked, "Who are you?"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
ahhh yes. Who is haze indeed? That and many other questions will be asked in the next exciting chapter of the haze chronicles. 


	3. Kento: Roots of the Earth

click on the intro for the disclaimers.  
  
Haze Chronicles 3: Kento: Roots of the Earth  
  
"So, what you're trying to tell us is that something possessed you?" Ryo asked.  
  
"That's what it felt like. It was almost like someone decided to borrow my mind for a while. Then it left. Very freaky," Cye explained.  
  
"I'll bet."  
  
"Ryo, do you even believe me?"  
  
"Of course, Cye, but you gotta admit, it does sound a little farfetched," Ryo said.  
  
"I know, I know. But I swear on...Kento's ham sandwich that's the truth!"  
  
"I heard that, Cye!" Kento yelled from the next room.  
  
Ryo grinned, "Well, if it's not bothering you too much..."  
  
"I think it was probably a one time thing, but we should keep an eye on-- Haze! We were just talking about you!"  
  
"I'm sure you were. Do you know why Mia just tried to give me the 'look of death'?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"I told you, I told you she was trouble."  
  
Cye groaned. "Mia..."  
  
"First, it was just a niggling suspicion in my head that something was wrong with her, and I think I've just been proven!"  
  
"Look here, I had nothing to do with what happened! I'm just as freaked out as you are!"  
  
"I doubt that! You don't look the least bit concerned for what happened to Cye. Why don't you stop trying to get away with something and tell us the truth?"  
  
"Excuse me? Are you calling me a liar?" Haze snapped.  
  
The shouting had gotten the other warriors' attention. They appeared on the scene.  
  
"What's going on?" Rowen asked.  
  
"This psychopath thinks what happened with Cye was all my fault!"  
  
"Well, it was, wasn't?"  
  
"Ladies, please, can't you tone it down a little? Let's talk about this rationally. Mia, you first. State your case," said Sage.  
  
Mia took a deep breath. "Okay, I know something's not right with her. She's too strange. I already told you that I thought she was a Dynasty soldier, and I've been proven. She tried to take control of Cye's mind and put the blame on someone else. She's obviously lying to protect herself or her master."  
  
Haze looked about ready to blow up.  
  
"Okay, fair enough. Haze? Your defense?"  
  
"This woman has been after me since the moment I walked into this house. You don't even know me, and you're spreading these horrible lies about me. I don't appreciate that. We were just talking and then *BOW* Cye changed into something else. Hooker."  
  
"WHAT? Listen to me, you little--!"  
  
"MIA!!" the five Ronins chorused.  
  
"Ahem. I'll make myself perfectly clear: Either she goes or I go."  
  
"Mia, that's not fair and you know it. We don't know what happened. Just give us a chance to see what's going on and then you can give ultimatums. Okay?" Ryo said.  
  
"This is *my* house, you know."  
  
"We understand that, Mia, but give us some credit. Have we ever knowingly put you in danger?" said Ryo, again calming Mia.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Okay then. Do you agree to give Haze one more chance?"  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"Haze? Do you agree to stay out of Mia's hair?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Ryo clapped his hands together. "That's settled, then. So, what's the next order of business? Who's next on the interview list, Haze?" Both Ryo and Haze ignored the look they got from Mia.  
  
"Kento."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Haze leaned into the chair in her customary way of back-against-one-arm- legs-over-the-other. Kento sat across from her with a bowl of potato chips in his lap.  
  
"So, what do you wanna know about the warrior of strength and justice?"  
  
"Hold on," Haze said, leaning forward and pushing 'record' on the machine. "I want you to know that nothing you say will leave this room, unless you give me permission, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"All right. Basic info first: age, place of birth, relatives, et cetera."  
  
"Hi! I'm Kento rei Fuan and I'm 17 years old. My birthday is October 12. I've got the armor of Hardrock. Cye's my best buddy."  
  
"I meant to ask you about that. He told me what happened. Everything."  
  
Kento had the grace to look stunned. "H-he did? I guess he's not the Ronin of Trust for nothing, eh?"  
  
Haze smiled.  
  
"Lessee. I"ve got a whole mess of brothers and sisters. There's Sun Yen; she's 2, there's Li; she's 6, there's..."  
  
"Wait a minute. Organization, Kento my boy. Name all your sisters first."  
  
"Okay. Sun Yen, Li, Hilan, and...nope, that's it. They're 2, 6, and 12. My brothers are Khym, Ken, and Kami. They're 8, 10, and 14."  
  
"That's a lot of damn 'K's'."  
  
"I know. Even my mom gets confused sometimes. She'll go through all of us to get to the one she wants to yell at. By the time she gets there, she'll forget what she's mad about anyway. It'll be like: 'Sun! Hil-! Khy-! Kento! Get your ass over here! We all make fun of her for it. What about you? Got any siblings?"  
  
"I thought *I* was interviewing *you.*"  
  
"Aw, c'mon. I wanna know at least a little about you. So, how many?"  
  
Haze shook her head. "The rumors are true, then," she muttered.  
  
"True about what?"  
  
"You ARE hardheaded!"  
  
"Heeeeyy!"  
  
"Anyways, let's continue." Haze thought she had deftly outmanuevered Kento, but he wasn't as blind as she thought.  
  
"So? Siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?"  
  
Haze's brow furrowed until they almost touched in the middle. She did not want to get into her past. It was bad enough that she couldn't even get into it with herself, much less some almost complete stranger.  
  
"I really don't want to talk about it, Kento."  
  
Kento seemed to look beyond her for a second before saying, "Haze, c'mon. We're all friends here, right?"  
  
Haze leaned forward and hit "stop" on the recorder.  
  
"Kento, when I say I don't wanna talk about something, I *really* don't want to talk about it, 'kay?"  
  
Kento looked past her again, making Haze wonder what was so interesting behind her. She turned, and almost blew up in fury.  
  
"You mother-fuckers were spying on me?!" she roared.  
  
The other four Ronins plus Mia looked at each other. Cye spoke first.  
  
"We weren't spying--"  
  
"Then what the fuck do you call it?" she yelled again.  
  
"We were just keeping an eye on you. I mean after what happened with Cye, can you blame us?" Ryo said, raising his voice above Haze's  
  
Haze calmed down somewhat. It was a reasonable explanation.  
  
"But you could, or rather, *should* have told me! I don't know what happened anymore than you guys do!"  
  
"We're not accusing you of anything, Haze. We just wanna know what's going on," Cye said.  
  
"So what are we gonna do?" Kento asked into the silence.  
  
"Nothing," Ryo said. "We just have to wait till something happens. If and when something does happen, don't get mad when we jump in, okay Haze?"  
  
She nodded. "I understand. So, can Kento and I continue without you guys, or do I need supervision?"  
  
Mia glared at her.  
  
"I'm sorry. That came out harsher than I meant it to."  
  
Mia kept right on glaring. Then she turned on her heel and stalked out. Ryo wasn't too far behind. Sage nudged Rowen and nodded towards the door. Cye caught the gesture as well, and the three of them left together.  
  
"Okay, then. Shall we?" Haze asked, pushing record.  
  
"My parents own a restaurant. We're pretty well off, I guess. It's not like I flaunt it or anything."  
  
"I'll say. I thought you were a scrub, lookin' like that."  
  
Kento looked at her, about to take offense, when he realized that she was kidding.  
  
"Hey, I wouldn't talk. You're not so dapper yourself, Kasen."  
  
"Oh hell no. That little drowned rat told you my name?"  
  
Kento laughed. "Damn right! He tells me everything!"  
  
Haze muttered something.  
  
"What was that, Kasen?" Kento taunted.  
  
"I said 'Damn him'!" she said, loudly and in good humor. "Ahem. Anyways. Where are you from?"  
  
"China, duh. I thought you knew that."  
  
Haze coughed. "I know. Humor me for the sake of journalism."  
  
"I was born right outside of Beijing in a big house. Or as big as one can get in China."  
  
"I can imagine."  
  
"I guess I've lived a pretty normal life. Other than Hardrock, I'm ordinary."  
  
"Come on. Something other than Hardrock must've happened to you. You guys attract attention."  
  
"I suppose the first time I met Cye was a little interesting."  
  
"Oh?" Haze prompted, when Kento hesitated.  
  
"Ummm...It was the first day of sixth grade. He was in my science class and we were assigned to be lab partners. I really didn't want to, cuz I thought he was kinda, well, you know, dorky. Anyways, we were listening to the teacher ramble on about...oh, I forget."  
  
"Couldn'ta been too important, huh?"  
  
Kento mock glared at her. "We were s'posed to dissect a fish of some sort, and Cye took offense. I thought he was a vegetarian or something, but the other kids really started harrassing him. Even though I barely knew him, I did know that the other kids were in the wrong. So I put my two cents in. Cye just kinda looked at me like I'd grown another arm. Eventually, a fight ensued and the lot of us got suspended."  
  
Haze chuckled. "Cye was fighting too?"  
  
"Sort of. I think he ended up chucking the fish at someone."  
  
"I wonder why Cye didn't mention that?"  
  
"I dunno. Maybe he knew I would bring it up. Or maybe his mind was clouded."  
  
Now it was Haze's turn to glare at Kento. Except she was serious.  
  
"Hey! Don't look at me like that! I was only referring to what you said at dinner."  
  
Haze relaxed. "So, how did you end up with Hardrock?" she asked, changing the subject.  
  
"I was visiting one of my uncles in America. He was showin' me around and we ended up going to the Grand Canyon."  
  
"And here I thought that Samurai were only in Japan."  
  
"It's not what you think. I tripped on some loose rocks and busted my ass. I was out cold for a little while and I dreamt of some orange armor and the 'justice' kanji. When I got back to Japan, I asked my parents if there was anything like that in our family. They didn't know."  
  
"So where did you get Hardrock?"  
  
"I'm getting to that. I think that by the time I had that dream, Cye already had Torrent. I saw his kanji ball one time when I was visiting. It looked familiar."  
  
"I thought you didn't have Hardrock yet."  
  
"I didn't. I just remembered from my dream."  
  
"Yeah, but don't you write in kanji?"  
  
"Uh-huh. But we don't use random words like 'justice' and 'trust', you know?"  
  
"I guess that makes sense."  
  
"Cye only told me that he 'found it' somewhere."  
  
"Huh. You said he tells you everything."  
  
"He does now. Anyways, a couple days later is when I found Hardrock."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I was just wandering along, mindin' my own business--"  
  
"When it fell out the sky?"  
  
"No, idiot. That's prolly how Rowen got his. It started to get stormy, and lightning hit this tree. It split dead down the middle, and right where the roots met the earth is where Hardrock stood. And the rest is history, I guess."  
  
"Didja tell Cye about it afterwards?"  
  
"Yeah, but not till a couple days after I got it. I wanted to get used to the idea first."  
  
"What'd Cye say?"  
  
"He was thrilled. Now he wasn't the only one with some weird armor."  
  
"Had either of you actually used the armor yet?"  
  
"No, we didn't need to. And we didn't know how. None of us did until we were all together."  
  
"How long till that happened?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Hello? Kento?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Uh-oh. Not again."  
  
Kento had changed dramatically. He was now glaring at Haze, rage and insanity in his eyes.  
  
"You're mine, Hazriel," Kento said, only it wasn't really Kento. He leapt over the coffee table separating them and throttled her.  
  
"Scream for me," Kentodemon whispered. She managed to get out a strangled gurgle.  
  
*************  
  
Rowen walked up to the house, nose in a book, and blindly opened the door. He walked through the living room, where Kentodemon was choking Haze.  
  
Rowen kept reading/walking. As he hit the bottom step to the second floor, he looked up, a puzzled look on his face. Then the scene in the living room finally registered. His book dropped from his hands as he dashed back.  
  
"Kento! What tha hell are ya doin'?!"  
  
An evil laugh escaped Kentodemon's lips. "Killing Hazriel, Strata. What does it look like?"  
  
"Ryo! Sage! Cye! Hurry!" Rowen shouted as he launched himself at Kentodemon.  
  
Kentodemon continued to squeeze Haze's throat with one hand as he flung Rowen back against the wall with the other.  
  
The remaining three Ronins appeared on the scene just as Rowen went flying.  
  
"Kento! Stop! You're killing her!" Cye yelled desperation in his voice.  
  
"That's the point, Torrent," Kentodemon hissed, and squeezed harder.  
  
The blood vessels in Haze's eyes popped, leaving them a ghoulish blood red.  
  
"This is the end, Hazriel."  
  
Haze's eyes changed from red to a glowing blue. Her long black hair lifted from her shoulders and a blue smoky substance started to rise from her body.  
  
There was a sudden blue flash as Kentodemon was thrown backwards. The chair Haze was sitting in also flipped over.  
  
Haze shot to her feet. "You have threatened this body for the last time, Malek. The High Kingdom will hear about this." The glowing blue then faded from Haze's eyes. She slumped to the floor, unconcious.  
  
*************  
  
Haze was lying on the couch, surrounded by the Ronins. They were in deep conversation.  
  
"I seriously want to know what happened," Kento said, more subdued than usual.  
  
"There's definitely something evil going on here, but I don't think it's Haze's fault," Sage said.  
  
"Who's this 'Malek' character she talked about? What's the 'High Kingdom'? And who's Hazriel?" Ryo asked, totally lost.  
  
As Haze became aware, she struggled to sit up. Sage, who was seated on the arm of the couch, pushed her back down.  
  
"Oh no. Lay still. You're not recovered yet."  
  
"You guys aren't angry with me?" Haze asked in an uncharacteristically timid voice.  
  
Ryo cracked a small smile. "No. Whatever happened wasn't because of you. Something else started it. We just don't know what. Yet."  
  
Suddenly, a bright flash blinded them for a moment. When they could see again, Anubis was standing in the room.  
  
"Anubis! *You* can tell us what's going on!" Kento shouted happily.  
  
"Correct, Hardrock." He knelt next to Haze and put a hand on her forehead. "I'm going to try to communicate with Hazriel. This may give you a headache."  
  
"Too late," she murmured.  
  
Anubis grinned and Haze's eyes closed.  
  
"Hazriel. I know you can hear me. We need to know what's going on. Hazriel!"  
  
"I can hear you, Anubis. No need to shout."  
  
Sage jumped, startled at the voice, which he knew came from Haze, but didn't, somehow.  
  
"Easy, Halo. I'm not Malek. That bastard."  
  
"Who's he then?" Rowen asked, as he shifted the icepack held to the back of his head.  
  
"Malek is the man who murdered my father, and now who plans to murder me."  
  
"Who was ya fathah?" Rowen asked again.  
  
Haze/Hazriel looked at him, surprised. "You don't know?"  
  
All of them shook their heads. Even Anubis was lost.  
  
"Hariel."  
  
"What!?" Ryo roared.  
  
Hazriel gave him a look. "Oh come on. Like my name wasn't a dead giveaway."  
  
Ryo ignored her. "You mean to tell me that Haze is Hariel's daughter?"  
  
"No, Wildfire. Haze is a descendant of Hariel's clan, but she's not me. We are two totally different entities."  
  
"So you're possessing Haze, so to speak?" Sage asked.  
  
"Yes, for lack of a better word. I inhabited this body when it was just a child. I am hoping to confront the demon Malek, but he can, unfortunately, kill this body. I need to be released from it if I, or Haze, is to be of any assistance."  
  
"We could try an exorcism," Sage suggested.  
  
"No. That won't work. I need the device that got me in here in the first place."  
  
"And where is this device?" Cye asked.  
  
Hazriel looked sheepish. "Ireland."  
  
***************  
  
The five Ronins, plus Mia, Yuli, and Haze/Hazriel and WhiteBlaze stood in line, waiting to board their plane to Ireland. (Well, not WhiteBlaze; he was in the cargo bay.) They had booked the flight as soon as Hazriel told them about it, and it was a few days later.  
  
Sage looked over at Haze/Hazriel. It was Haze, for now. Sage had come to expect the sudden change into Hazriel; he now recognized the signs. Her eyes would get droopier and she would look more relaxed. The real difference, however, would be her/their eyes. Haze's eyes were a startling emerald green, while Hazriel's were tiger blue like Ryo's. Sage had long had a suspicion that Ryo was distantly related to Hariel, and if that was the case, Haze and Ryo would be many-removed cousins.  
  
The thought of two Ryo's freaked Sage out a bit.  
  
A whistle brought him out of his daze.  
  
"Earth ta Sage," Rowen whispered beside him. "Whatcha daydreamin' 'bout?"  
  
"Haze and Ryo."  
  
Rowen looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh. Ya mean bein' related ta Hariel?"  
  
Sage nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't it be weird if they were? I mean, one Ryo is enough. We can barely keep *him* in one piece."  
  
"Why should it matta? Ah don't think Haze is gonna stick around afta all this."  
  
"And what if she does? Then what?"  
  
"Then we deal with it. C'mon, Sage, it's not like ya ta be so upset 'bout somethin'."  
  
"I am not upset!"  
  
Rowen raised an eyebrow, then frowned. "Great. This asshole doesn't quit. Ryo! Haze! Guys!" ::I seem to be doing a lot of yelling for them...::  
  
The lot of them came running.  
  
"Peace, Ronin," Sage/Malek said. I'm here to make you a deal, not to fight. We all know what I want. Give me Hazriel and I'll leave you alone."  
  
"Absolutely not!" Ryo shouted.  
  
"If you don't hand over the girl, I will be forced to snatch another of Hariel's descendants."  
  
Sage's one eye returned to its normal piercing lavender. "He's gone, but he's getting more insistent," he said shakily.  
  
"He must be damned powerful if he can control Sage like that," Kento said in a rare moment of insight.  
  
"Who's the other descendant?" asked Cye.  
  
"Ro and I think it's probably Ryo."  
  
Even Ryo nodded. "So I guess that means you guys are gonna have to up security on me, eh?"  
  
"Unfortunately, yeah. Once we all get ta Ireland, we'll figure somethin' definite out," Rowen said.  
  
"Flight 216 bound for Dublin, now boarding," said the PA system.  
  
"That'd be us," Mia said, and they walked off.  
  
**************  
  
Haze and Kento sat next to each other on the flight. She still had a few more questions.  
  
"I don't know how you can want to interview me after all this. I mean, I almost killed you."  
  
"Nonsense. It wasn't you, it was Malek. C'mon now. We'll start where we left off the last time. How long was it until you donned the armor?"  
  
Kento thought a bit. "Hmmmm...not till about two years later, give or take a few months."  
  
"Damn. So what'd you do till then?"  
  
"Both Cye and I had the urge to learn some self-defense. Of course, after awhile, we ended up really learning how to fight."  
  
"With the weapons you were going to use, or just anything?"  
  
"Anything, at first. But then we picked a weapon we were most comfortable with. Cye had the yari, and I had the naginata."  
  
"What other weapons did you learn?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, we could all use each other's weapons in a pinch. I can use Cye's yari or Ryo's katanas or Sage's no-datchi, if I really had to."  
  
"What about Rowen's bow?"  
  
Kento snorted. "Yeah right. Sage is the only one that can use that thing effectively enough to do any damage. I always get whacked with the string."  
  
"And Sage doesn't?"  
  
"Not really. I've seen him with bruises before. Hey, are you taping this?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"What are you going to do with the tapes?"  
  
"Listen to them for my own personal enjoyment."  
  
"C'mon, seriously. Are you going to show them to other people? Like your fellow journalists?"  
  
"I honestly don't know. I might have some people listen to them, but only people I trust."  
  
"Do we get a say in who listens to them?"  
  
"If you really want to, I don't see why not."  
  
A stewardess rolled by with a cart.  
  
"All right! Food!" Kento shouted. Haze buried her face in her hands.  
  
AN: Ryo's next, if I ever get around to typing that one. 


	4. Ryo: Foot of Fujisan

Roughly 18 hours passed before their plane touched down in Ireland. Nobody wanted to do much of anything except kick back in their hotel. They had gotten two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls.  
  
"So, who's staying in which room?" Cye asked.  
  
Rowen flopped down on one of the beds and promptly started to snore.  
  
"Well, I guess the guys get this room, and Mia and I get the other," Haze said, suppressing a grin at Rowen's antics.  
  
"There's sooooo not going to be enough room for all.six, no, seven of us, if we include WB over there," said Kento, counting on his fingers.  
  
"Well, it's not like White Blaze takes up a lot of space," Ryo said.  
  
"I can stay with Mia," Yuli said.  
  
"Thanks," Ryo said, nodding at him.  
  
"So, who else goes?" Sage asked.  
  
Mia spoke up. "Not Kento; I've heard him snore. Not Cye, cuz he flops around too much. I always hear his bed squeaking no matter what time I get up."  
  
Cye blushed and cast a sidelong glance at Kento, who was trying not to laugh.  
  
"That leaves either Ryo or Sage," Mia finished.  
  
"I am not sharing a bed with Rowen. He nearly gave me a concussion the last time we shared a bed. Talk about flopping around! He's dangerous!" Ryo said, shaking his head vehemently.  
  
"So, what we've got is me, Mia, Yuli, and Ryo. Right?" Haze asked, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. These people make everything so difficult! she thought.  
  
After a few more minutes of Kento complaining about how he does not snore that loud, and Cye saying he never hears any squeaking, Haze and her roommates went to their room.  
  
"This isn't too private, what with our rooms being connected," Haze said.  
  
"Oh well, can't have it both ways," Ryo said, chucking his backpack onto a bed.  
  
"Mia, can I go to the pool?" Yuli asked.  
  
"Not unless someone goes down to keep an eye on you."  
  
"Awwwww, c'mon Mia!" Yuli whined.  
  
"All right, but I'm not going in the pool."  
  
"Yay!"  
  
After they left, it was just Ryo and Haze.  
  
"Since I've got you here, Ryo, can I interview you?"  
  
"You don't quit, do you?"  
  
Haze frowned slightly. "Well, we might as well do something to keep us busy. And you are the man of moment."  
  
"True, but shouldn't we be discussing how to get Hazriel out of you?"  
  
"I think that Hazriel knows what she's doing. She doesn't need any help. Not in getting her out me, anyways."  
  
"You really want to interview me? Why not Sage or Rowen?"  
  
"I'm not sharing a room with Sage or Rowen."  
  
Ryo looked down bashfully. "Ummm.What are our sleeping arrangements, anyways?"  
  
"Mia and I can share a bed, so you and Yuli can have the other one. And don't change the subject."  
  
"Sorry, don't get snippy."  
  
"I'm not snippy, I'm just frustrated. So, can I interview you or not?"  
  
"I guess. You'll probably kill me in my sleep if I don't let you."  
  
"Nonsense," she said, digging in her pack for the tape recorder. She placed it on a nightstand and hit "record."  
  
"I just want you to know that everything you say here will not be repeated unless you give me permission. All of it is strictly confidential. Okay?"  
  
Ryo nodded. "Where do you want me to start?"  
  
Haze's mouth quirked. "At the beginning."  
  
"Don't act smart," Ryo said, sitting on the bed.  
  
Haze scrunched up her face, crossed her eyes, and stuck her tongue out. "Deerrrr, I'm okay now!"  
  
Ryo looked at her sideways. "Do you want to do this or not?"  
  
Haze became instantly somber, and sat across from him on the other bed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I'm Ryo Sanada, I'm 17 years old and I've got the armors of Wildfire and Inferno."  
  
"You know, 'inferno' means 'hell' in Italian."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Anyways, I'm an only child and both my parents are dead."  
  
"Ouch. Why so cold? Don't you have any living relatives?"  
  
"It's not that I'm cold, it's just that it doesn't hurt as much anymore. My grandma lives in Tokyo, but I rarely see her. She's, like, 102 years old or something, so I'd pretty much have to go to her. I don't even remember what room she's in at the home."  
  
"Nice of you to keep in touch. I guess I shouldn't say anything since I don't see my family at all either. Of course, that's because they hate me." She shook her head. "As you were saying?"  
  
Ryo stored that little bit of information away before continuing.  
  
"My parents and I were very close. We had a summer house out in practically the middle of nowhere, or, rather, in the middle of Hokkaido. I was ten, and it was during vacation that they died."  
  
"They died at the same time?"  
  
"No, but close. We were having a grand old time when we heard some rustling in the woods in the back of the house. I went to check it out, and I saw this huge white cat stuck in a trap. I didn't think about what I was doing, I only wanted save it. So I walked up to him and pulled his foot out of the trap. My parents caught up to me, and tried to tell me to leave it alone. I'm glad I didn't though; he's still with me," Ryo said, putting a hand on White Blaze's head. "The guy that must've laid trap came running up just then, and he was threatening to shoot Blaze. I jumped in front of him, and the hunter came forward and threw me to the side. My dad ran to the hunter, and tried to stop him, but the gun went off, hitting my father in the head. He died instantly. I don't really remember much after that, just a lot of running around and screaming. Then we ended up at the hospital. At that time, I didn't know that he was dead, and I kept asking my mom and my grandma if he was gonna be okay. I asked nurses and doctors, but no one wanted to tell me. My mom was kind of in shock, she didn't say anything, not even to my grandma-"  
  
"Ryo."  
  
"I even called my uncle, who lived out in Kyoto, if he knew what happened. He told me-"  
  
"Ryo."  
  
"-That he didn't know, and that he was waiting for a call from my mother."  
  
"Ryo!"  
  
"What!?" he snapped.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
With those simple words, coming from such a person as Haze, Ryo broke down. His head bowed and his shoulders shook with silent sobs.  
  
Haze got up and sat next to him. "Let it go, Ryo," she said softly, and folded him into her arms. He cried freely into her neck and shoulder. She rocked him slowly for a little while before he pulled away.  
  
"Better?" Haze asked gently.  
  
He nodded. "I never took you for the mothering type," he said with a watery grin. "I haven't cried like that since.he died. Sorry for using your shoulder as a Kleenex."  
  
"That's what I'm here for. Do you want to keep going, or should we take a break?"  
  
"Let me regain my composure first."  
  
Haze stood up to give him some privacy, but he pulled her back down.  
  
"Thank you, Kasen."  
  
She ignored the use of her real name, and said, "You're very welcome, Ryo, but you look like there's something else on your mind."  
  
"How old are you?" he blurted.  
  
Haze didn't seem shocked at all by the question. "I'm 24, why?"  
  
"Just wondering."  
  
"You don't have a crush on me, do you?"  
  
Ryo blushed. "No! I mean, not that you aren't pretty, I mean, you're beautiful, I mean-"  
  
Haze chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Ryo. My heart already belongs to somebody else."  
  
Ryo looked surprised. "It does? Who? I mean-aghh, nothing's coming out right!"  
  
Haze laughed again. "I said don't worry about it. You'll probably never meet him anyways. Are you ready to go on?"  
  
He nodded slowly. "Kasen, can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure. Shoot."  
  
"Would it be okay, if, after this mess is done, we interviewed you?"  
  
"I'll think about it. Now, though, we're working on you."  
  
Ryo took a breath. "Okay. About three months or so after my father died, my mother ran the car off the road."  
  
"Suicide?"  
  
"No, she didn't die, but they took me away from her. I don't know if it's right to say this, but I was kind of glad they did. I mean, after all that happened, she really wasn't my mother anymore, you know? She had changed into someone else. Someone not as caring or loving as she used to be. I still loved her, of course, but things just weren't the same anymore. After that, I was shuttled from foster home to foster home. Some were all right, but most of them were abusive. Not," he added quickly, "sexually or even physically, but verbally."  
  
"So what happened to White Blaze?"  
  
"I don't know. After the hunter incident, I didn't see him again."  
  
"I assume you found him somewhere."  
  
"Well, yeah, but that wasn't till much later, almost when I was 14."  
  
"Ahh. I see. So, what happened in the four between that?"  
  
"Nothing. Well, I guess the foster home thing happened all the time."  
  
"Must've been hard on you."  
  
"Not really. After school, I rarely came home. I either loitered at the mall or wherever else I could find."  
  
"I take it you didn't have a lot of friends."  
  
Ryo snorted in disgust. "No one wanted to hang around with me. Of course, the feeling was mutual."  
  
Haze chuckled.  
  
"Anyways, my grandma finally came to get me one day when I was almost 15. She had been living at the summer home, and the social workers hadn't told her where I was. That's what she told me, anyways."  
  
"You're implying that she didn't care?"  
  
"No, it's not that. She wasn't altogether there, you know? She was a little addlebrained. If the social workers did tell her, she probably didn't remember. If they didn't, she probably forgot to ask."  
  
"Hold on a sec. You never told me how your mother died."  
  
"Oh. Ummm, I think she just completely lost it. She killed herself by jumping in front of the Shinkansen. After I was taken away from her, I never saw her again, so maybe that pushed her over the edge. I don't know. I don't have a lot of fond memories of those last few months. I remember her as the mother I knew before my father died. I think that's the way I'd like to keep it."  
  
"Good for you. Go on."  
  
"Well, I met White Blaze again. This time he wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't tell my grandma about it, either. She would probably either report him or have a heart attack."  
  
"I get the feeling that you're not too fond of your grandma."  
  
"Naw, it's just that we really don't get along very well, and she hardly remembers me half the time. I still love her though. She's my only flesh and blood." He sighed. "I guess that's it."  
  
"What? Pssh, you haven't told me about how you got Wildfire!"  
  
"You want to know?"  
  
"Hell yes, that's the main reason for interviewing you guys."  
  
"Hmm, it was right after I met White Blaze for the second time. He had run off with one of my shoes, so I chased him. I don't even know how we got there, but suddenly we were at the base of Mount Fuji. He was kind of sniffing around, like he was looking for something. He finally dropped my shoe into this little hole, and I knew that he wanted me to reach my hand in there and get it burned off. I was content to go home shoeless, but White Blaze insisted. So, I stuck my hand in there, and sure enough, it burned like a sonofabitch, but only for about a second. Then, it was like I was meant to be there, like the volcano knew who I was. I got warm all over, and I shoved my hand in deeper till I hit something smooth. I pulled my hand back out, and it was covered in molten lava. I kid you not. But for some reason, I wasn't scared, or surprised. The lava fell off by itself, and in my hand was Wildfire. I didn't even care about my shoe after that."  
  
Haze laughed. "I guess not. Hey, could you describe what it's like to have the armors?"  
  
"I can try. It's almost like having a second body. Like someone else is borrowing you for a little while. Your mind is still yours, but you're more like an observer in you own body. Hmm, I don't think it can be described. You'd have to experience it, and you don't have an armor."  
  
"No, but I do have Hazriel. I may not know exactly, but I've got a pretty good idea."  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot about Hazriel."  
  
Haze's eyes turned blue.  
  
"Come now, Wildfire, how could you forget about me?"  
  
Ryo jumped at Hazriel's voice. Hazriel chuckled.  
  
"I think you all should start calling Haze by her real name. It gets confusing."  
  
"How is it confusing? We don't talk to you."  
  
Hazriel grinned. "That may be true, but whenever you say 'Haze', I think you might be calling me."  
  
Ryo snorted. "All right. We'll call Haze Kasen."  
  
Hazriel nodded. "Good. Tell the others to do the same," she said, as her eyes turned green.  
  
Kasen shook her head. "What'd the psycho have to say this time? She shuts me out when she talks to you guys."  
  
Ryo smiled. "She wants us to call you by your real name. Could you tell her something for me?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Tell her she can call us by our real names, too. My name's not 'Wildfire'."  
  
Kasen chuckled. "So, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"  
  
"I think I was done."  
  
"Nonsense. Hmm, let's see. Kento said you guys can switch weapons in a pinch."  
  
Ryo's brows furrowed as he thought. "Yeah, I guess. Especially Sage and I. We've got practically the same weapon."  
  
"Kento also told me that no one can use Rowen's bow."  
  
"Nope. The first time I tried to use it, the string broke and hit me in the face."  
  
"Ouch."  
  
'Yeah."  
  
"Isn't it kinda hard to break a bowstring?"  
  
"Yeah, but I've seen Rowen do it. He was trying to explain how many pounds of pull you need. I didn't get. In my case, though, the string popped off the end of the bow. It hit me near my eye, and if Sage hadn't been there to heal me, I probably would've lost that eye."  
  
"I don't even see a scar," Kasen said, peering closely at Ryo.  
  
"Nope, Sage is that good."  
  
"I can't see how Rowen's bow could lose its string."  
  
"It wasn't Strata's bow; we were just playing around at an archery range. Yeah right, like Rowen would even let us breathe on the bow of Strata. You know, I keep thinking you're going to ask me how I got Inferno."  
  
"No, I saw that for myself, and let me tell you, you don't know how many times I wanted to jump into a brawl and slap some sense into you guys."  
  
Ryo pretty much ignored that last part of that. "You seem pretty unconcerned for someone who's possessed."  
  
Kasen snorted. "It can be hell, it can be hell. Hazriel can shut me out in a minute. She doesn't seem to care about me, but I know she does, since she lives in the same body."  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"You seem to say that a lot, Ryo."  
  
"So? Anyways, can I ask who your boyfriend is? Or is that something you don't want to talk about?"  
  
Kasen sighed. "You saw my black book, right?" Ryo nodded. "Remember the man in the red coat? That's him."  
  
"Uhh.Ayden, right? Didn't you say that he was a witch?"  
  
"Sort of. He can do some pretty freaky shit when he puts his mind to it."  
  
"Sounds like someone we could get along with."  
  
Kasen grinned. "You probably could, but you'd have to get past the fact that he can be an asshole."  
  
AN: goddamn, that took forever. Be patient, I'll have more soon. I hope. 


End file.
